Trump lashes out at ABC reporter Rachel Scott over legitimate question on dividend proposal
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President Donald Trump once again targeted a female journalist, dismissing ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott as 'the worst' after she dared to question the funding behind his populist $5,000 dividend proposal, continuing his pattern of hostility toward women in the press.
President Donald Trump berated ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott on the tarmac at the end of the Republican midterm convention, sneering, 'Not you. Not you … Your network and you, you’re the worst.' Scott had simply asked how the administration planned to pay for the promised $5,000 'Trump dividend' for every American, especially considering the national debt now exceeds $40 trillion, and questioned the need for cash handouts if Trump’s economic policies were truly working.
The exchange, captured on video and widely shared, underscored Trump’s ongoing pattern of antagonism toward women in the media. Just last August, Trump told CNN White House reporter Kristen Holmes to 'be quiet' when she pressed him on U.S. military exercises with South Korea. In May, he stooped to calling MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner a 'dumb person' for pointing out the ballooning cost of a White House ballroom renovation, which doubled from $200 million to $400 million.
White House assistant press secretary Olivia Wales attempted to defend Trump, claiming, 'President Trump is the most accessible President in American history. But when liberal reporters, male or female, ask biased questions, he calls them out and delivers his message without apology.' ABC News did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The administration’s continued attacks on journalists—especially women—raise serious concerns about press freedom and accountability.